Hubby's response to Bea (Evil Prospers, response)

Ms. Bea and anyone else who just doesn't understand,

I think you missed some key points the post.

We live out in the middle of nowhere. Our nearest neighbor is 1/3 of a mile away, the next nearest is nearly a mile away. The closest “town” (1 store, a bar and a post office) is over 5 miles away. Between us and town are cow fields, sagebrush, and light forest. When I wrote about a community I was referring to the dozen or so folks who live in a roughly 10 mile diameter zone.

As for someone suffering from any stink we may produce; Guess who wins in a stink contest on a hot day? Would it be two humans using a regularly serviced (at our expense) potable toilet, or several hundred head of cattle in a small field? Nothing we have stinks worse then a well manured cow field. Mind you, I don't complain about the cows, it's just what cows do. Oh and did I mention, we are out in the middle of nowhere?

We picked just such a remote location in order to remove ourselves from intrusion into our lives. We don't expect, nor wish to have any county services. Response time to our location for any fire, ambulance, or law enforcement, is measured in hours not minuets. It's popular to be part of a life flight co-op for any true medical emergencies. It's a good idea when you are out in the middle of nowhere.

We regularly haul our trash to the dump and pay the dump fee, or in the winter we can use the burn barrel for most of it. You can do that when your not in a town or city, like when you are out in the middle of nowhere.

No we don't have running watter, we have 600 gallons of storage for water. We pay one of our neighbors to deliver water. I pump out of the storage as needed. we use a gravity fed solar heated shower, our drinking water is from our Burke filter, the same thing the British army uses in the field. I heat watter in our propane turkey fryer when needed for dishes or whatever. I was planning on connecting up a 12 volt DC water pump at some point, kind of on hold for now. Our region is high desert and I have attracted a lot of wild life to my little plot of land just by making water available for birds and other local critters. My little bit of improvement to the middle of nowhere.

I would love to put in solar electric, but I keep having to divert my solar panel fund to little things like keeping a car to use, doctors, and food. You know; silly, frivolous stuff. For power right now we use a generator and battery combo. I normally run the generator nine hours, sometimes twelve if the battery is extremely low. None of my neighbors can hear it, one of those advantages of being out in the middle of nowhere.

The point of the post was to express my rage and sadness that laws, that are perfectly logical for anyone in a town or city, are being applied in a near punitive way, to rural people who can't benefit from their application.

Unless you wish to debate that knowingly causing hardship, loss, and suffering is evil, then I beg you to understand that laws, throughout history, have caused more evil then all the weapons ever made by man's hand. Let's just pick a law .. how about the one used by Pharaoh to enslave Jews. We could also pick the one used in the Inquisition. Too old for you, Federal Attorney General Gonzalez told then president, G. W. Bush, that it is legal to water board prisoners. The law once said blacks had to sit in the back of a bus. Every one of these laws, and thousands of others, caused hardship, loss and suffering. They were evil laws.
I put to you Ms. Bea, that you cannot both support our right to live as we wish, and condemn us to “some standard” when that “standard” is of no benefit to anyone, and is in fact a small bit of evil.

Evil Prospers

Evil is any action that knowingly causes hardship, loss, or suffering to another.

On July 7th 2009 Kristine Cornett, a Klamath County code enforcement officer, accompanied by a county deputy, brought evil to an entire community of low income people.

For years the folks living in this community have barely scraped out an existence. In this community there is no connection to power, most have to truck in their water, and many use out-houses or rented portable toilets. Most in this community are on fixed incomes, disability or social security, one is dieing.

This is a rural community, no one location can even see any other, it is miles from anything resembling a town. None of us have traditional homes. Some live in camping trailers, some in small sheds, a few luckier ones have older mobile homes. None are living in accordance with county code, and from there the evil flows.

For some reason, Ms. Cornett, one of only two code inspectors in the entire county, found it necessary to persecute this entire community. Granted, she is acting fully within the bounds of the law, but laws do not keep an act from being evil. Some of the folks have been told they have no right to live on their land any longer and must leave before the end of the month, all the others were told that unless large sums of money were paid to the county in the form of permits, improvements, and inspections, they also would have to vacate their land. This would be called extortion if it wasn't backed up by the force of the government. I personally still call it extortion.

Perhaps the county has decided to try and balance it's budget on the backs of the poor, or maybe Ms. Cornett thinks she is just doing her job, perhaps someone got tired of all us poor folk. I don't know the reason we were targeted, but the end result is the same, an entire community has been subjected to hardship, loss, and will suffer. In other words, evil has been done to us.

Geeking in the Woods

I'm trying to earn some cash helping local folks with computer problems.
At the rate I going I will starve if I need to rely on this work for
income. Maybe things will pick up if I can get enough folks to work with
but I'm not sure there are enough folks using computers out here to
provide a usable customer base.

The working conditions are not a geeks dream. Yesterday I was called by
a nice guy who needed some help, but he lived so far out in the sticks
he didn't think we could find his place. Instead we met in one of the
nearby towns. He brought his tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse, and set
them up on his tailgate. He used an inverter connected to his truck
battery for power.

I may have been a bit flustered by the setup but I was able to do some
work, I even had an audience for a bit, one of them was a horse. I hate
it when a horse is critiquing my work don't you? Sadly the gentleman's
system was basically toast. I'm going to try and recover some data off
the HD for him but I don't hold out a lot of hope for that even.

On a previous job the customer brought their system into a local bar /
diner. At least I was able to have some pie while I worked. In fact, I
traded the work for the pie. Ummm pie!

My big problem right now is nailing down when and if someone wants help
on their system. No one calls and says” My widget is not widgeting. Can
you come by on Monday around 10:00 and take a look at it?” No, what I
get is “My computer is not working right. Can you to take a look
sometime.” From this info I must then extract more about the problem, a
day and time, and a location they want me to come to, that is if they
want me to come over. Commitment is a challenge.

I need some things to make my job go smoother, I have most of them, but
they are in storage in Eugene, I'm not sure what will cost me more,
replacing the equipment or retrieving it from Eugene. Sigh, I hate this
kind of decision.

Oh well, maybe today I can whittle down my to-do list some more, no
computer jobs scheduled.

The challenged Geek of Treehaven.

Backlog

I just looked back over some of the old blogs and figured I might want
to update folks on some things.

Sadly, the updates are mostly no news.


The cabin is still sitting at a slant and I think it's going to stay
that way until things start to warm up and the ground thaws. I don't
think I could dig right now even if I used a jack hammer.


I never did track our power use, I started a log but I made it so
complex I didn't use it. I need to track our use so I can plan for the
future, a new simplified log is in the works. I replaced a lamp that I
thought had problems. Our 26watt CFL bulb was drawing 100-200 watts so I
suspected an electrical problem in the lamp. We got a new lamp and a new
florescent bulb rated at 27 watts (not a CFL) and the new one still
draws about 100 watts. This has to be some kind of issue with florescent
bulbs running off of an inverter. I need to do more checking.


I did finely brake out the chainsaw and drop a tree. It was a dead tree
I was afraid could fall and hurt someone. I also cut some wooden blocks
from another log to make a stand for putting the generator on when I
change its oil. I'm trying to find ways to make things I need instead of
buying them.


That oven we got so we could bake bread and other stuff; It's still
sitting outside waiting for a place to be prepared for it in the cabin
because I still haven't got all our insulation up. There are 3 sections
on the north wall to the left of the door, 3 sections on the east wall
and 4 sections on the south wall all still need insulation. All of these
locations have stuff in front of them, tables, dressers, supplies etc..
We need a few more nice days when we can stay home. If we get them, we
can put some stuff outside just so we can get at the locations we need
to work on.


I still need to come up with a way to get water that doesn't involve
digging a 400+ foot well. I'm looking at fog traps, it's something used
in the high mountains of South America. The dew/fog is collected on
strips of plastic about 6-8” long. Lot's of the strips are strung
together and hung over a collection pipe. I just hope we end up with
enough watter in the air for this to work.


So yeah, still lots of backlog on the to-do list. Anyone got some
round-to-its they can spare?


Over busy Geek of Treehaven.

Anachronism

Have you ever heard about the SCA, The Society for Creative Anachronism?
It is an international group of folks who enjoy getting together to
dress, speak, and generally relive the middle ages for fun. The last
part of the name, anachronism, means something out of its time, I.E.; a
bunch of 21st century office workers talking with Thou's and “my Lord's”
is a bit of an anachronism.


Out here in the woods I get to feeling anachronistic a lot. I have been
researching things to do with trees. Our settler forefathers made almost
everything they needed out of the raw materials they had, and out here
they had a lot of trees.


The anachronisms start with research. It just feels odd to be using the
Internet to look up info on carpentry techniques used 200 years ago.
Even using a chainsaw feels anachronistic, it's like I should be
dropping the tree with an ax.


A lot of times I think about what the settlers did at night when there
was no more light to work by. I crank up the generator and play computer
games, or watch a movie, or read with an electric light attached to my
forehead. Our forefathers didn't have those options, they had (maybe) a
book or two they could read by candlelight and if they were married,
sex. Chances are they worked so hard during the day that the most common
form of nighttime entertainment was sleep.


Cell phones are another big thing that feels out of place. We have
instant communications with our families hundreds of miles away. We can
get news from around the world or call for help with the little Star
Trek like communicator we stick in our pocket. Our forefathers waited
for weeks or sometimes months for news and letters from outside their
little community or homestead and only had smoke signal's to call for
help with. (Think; burning cabin)


The biggest anachronism is the cars. With our gas powered machines we
can zip off to the city in a hour, jaunt down to town for mail in a few
minutes or haul hundreds of pounds of stuff from here to there as easy
as you please. In the old days a trip anywhere was a major undertaking
that would last all day or even weeks, and required the logistic
planning talents of a militarily supply commander.


So here I sit out in the woods, recording my thoughts on the defining
piece of technology of our time, the computer, and reflecting on all
that I have that my forefathers didn't have. I'm a walking anachronism.


The Geek misplaced in time of Treehaven

Just Life

The last couple of days have been uneventful. We did some dishes, a little laundry, I changed the oil in the generator and we went for a nice walk.

We had a short visit from our friend Mr. Trader, we are going to be getting a propane oven from him as soon as we get some money. This will make wife happy. She will have a real oven to bake in again, mmm fresh bread. OK, it will make me happy also.

I have plenty of things on my "To Do" list but I'm constrained by materials, and materials cost money. I have lots of wood, all I have to do is cut it down and figure out how to make it into lumber using a hatchet and a chain saw. I really don't want to cut down a lot of my trees. The trees are most of the prosperity's value and are our reserve heat source should anything ever happen to the propane supply.

I'm starting to worry about my long term income prospects. I don't plan on being on disability forever and I 'm fairly certain that the insurance company will make sure that would be next to imposable. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to what I was doing. Just the thought of the cubical farm and the problems I was having puts me into a very Hulk like mood. (Hulk SMASH!!!)

My therapist says this kind of reaction is my reptile brain overriding the reasoning part of my brain. The reptile in me thinks I'm being chased by a gorilla and preps the body for fight or flight. I'm working with her to try and gain some control over this reaction, but something has occurred to me in the last few days. What if I am being chased by a gorilla? No, not a tree dwelling gorilla, I'm not that far gone, but the modern equivalent, a situation or event that is a threat to me or my family's life. If that is the case am I not putting myself at a disadvantage in a life or death conflict by overriding my reptile reaction? I don't know, it's something I will have to talk with her about at my next appointment.

For now I think I will just finish my morning caffeine fix (Tea, Earl Gray, Hot) and try and get through the day.

The Gorilla Chased Geek of Treehaven.

Information Expectations

Yesterday we made a trip into town. The goal was to spend the last of our cash on propane and gas, and grab some internet time at the library.

Overall I have been impressed by the library system in klamath county but yesterday's trip to the library was disappointing.

This branch has no wireless internet access. Every other branch we have used provided wireless access, but not this one. I asked the librarian why thay didn't offer wireless and was told that at one time thay did have wireless, but it caused some kind of problem with the DSL connection so thay stopped offering it.

BLINK ... BLINK

keep in mind that I'm a computer geek by trade. I have been working with computers of one kind or another for 25 years. There is no reason a wireless access point should cause any problems with a DSL connection. I don't think the librarian was lying to me, but someone is lying to someone.

The library has 3 computers hard wired to the DSL line. Two PC's with Windows, and one Mac system. When we got there one of the PC systems was in use and the other had no network connection. I think it has a bad connector on the network cable but thay have the OS locked down so tight I would have had to hack in just to work on it. I figured hacking the system was a bad idea so I just left it be. Looks like it will just have to wait for the paid county library geek to fix it, someday. We can hope.

With my options for internet access down to the Mac system I opened up Safari and tried to go to one of my podcast sites. Note I said "tried". Instead of my expected web site I get a notice that my requested web site is "'not on the approved web site list".

BLINK ... BLINK

A library should NOT filter internet access. A library is a center of information. No individual or group should determine what information someone can have access to.

I can already hear the shouts of "but we must protect the children". No, protecting the child is the job of the parent(s) not of the library. If you must allow someone else to "protect" your children then at least provide some kind of adult override so only the children are being "protected".

Beware the person who would deny you access to information, for in their heart they secretly believer themselves to be your master.

The Slightly Enraged Geek of Treehaven 

This home protected by Mossberg

Sunday was not a complete down day, but not a lot got done. The wife's back was bothering her so most of what we wanted to get done was put off.

Instead we spent some quantity time shooting and cleaning our neglected firearms. That is to say, I did some shooting, and we both did some cleaning. Mrs. Treehaven didn't feel up to handling her baby, the Mossberg, but she is vary capable of using it should she need to.

I support the 2nd amendment fully. Our founding father's had just won a war using mostly farmers and merchants against a tyrant's professional soldiers. Thay knew the value of individuals with firearms and insured future generations would have access to firearms should the need ever arise again.

The rest of the day was down time. We had a short visit from our friend the trader, I spent some time doing some geek stuff and playing a computer game.

I charged up Tim (our battery) using the 50 amp setting last night. I got it up to 13.2 volts, still not the 14 volts I was hoping for. After running the sleep apnea machine all night and our light for an hour or so, Tim showed a remaining charge of 11.8 volts. Tonight I will repeat the process and see how things go.

I'm staring a spread sheet today to track our costs for power and heat. I will also track charge time, volts, and some other data that I will share once I have enough information to form solid conclusions from.

Today it's into town for a bit. We will be spending the last of our cash on some gasoline and propane. I hope we will have enough to last until next Monday.

I'm also going to drop off a laptop for our trader friend. I'm introducing him to the world of podcasts.

Well, time to face the day.

The unfocused Geek of Treehaven

"Some call me... Tim"

We name things, the wife's medical equipment is called Harvey, our portable 12 volt battery pack is R2, we even have a wooden chest we call George.

Now we have added the newest member of our none-fur family. Please say hi to Tim. Tim is 100Amp hours of 12 volt deep cycle power. Tim puts poor little R2 to shame. In fact I'm thinking of changing R2's name to R0.5 because it performed so poorly.

We named Tim after my nephew, the doctor. (Phd in Electrical Engineering) It was his christmas present that allowed us to aquire the heart of our off grid power system.

Using batteries as a main power source is not as straight forward as I thought it would be. Who would have thought that you would charge a 12 volt battery to above 12 volts. One of our neighbors says I should charge it up to about 14 volts using the 50 amp setting on our charger and then top it off at 2 amps for about an hour. I'm going to try that tonight.

We have a 750 watt inverter that converts the battery's DC power to AC. The inverter has 3 information displays, battery voltage, watts in use, and output voltage. The watts display has me a bit confused. Last night it showed our little 27 watt (CFL) light was pulling almost 100 watts. I don't know if our light bulb is going bad, the lamp itself has a problem, or if there is something in the whole process I just don't understand.

Working with limited power brings a whole new way of looking at power conservation. You need to really examine what your priorities are. For us the number 1 priority is the wife's sleep apnea machine. Our 2nd priority is charging our gizmoes, cell phone. iPod, R0.5, my PDA, and our laptops. The wife might disagree and say the number 2 priority is our one little light, but I'm good with just my head lamp.

I'm having to get use to doing any heavy computer work only when the genarator is running. Likewise, if we want to watch a DVD, we need to do so while the genarator is running, the laptop battery doesn't last for a whole movie.

I'm learning to adapt, this blog is being written on my PDA and I'm trying to keep myself busy with things that take little or no electricity. It's hard to be a geek in the backwoods.

The (twitching in power withdrawal) Geek of Treehaven

Looking Back

I have a feeling that this will be my last blog entry for the year. The new year is coming up fast so I'm going to do what all the old media does and take a look back at the old year.

Last New Year's eve I was at home making sure our cowardly middle fur child didn't freak out over the fireworks all our neighbors were setting off. If I recall correctly we watched some movie to "celebrate". You could say the event didn't leave a big impression in my mind.

If I were to try and sum up the last year in a word it would be "frustration". Frustration that I was just another cog in a big corporation, frustration with my own body as it fell apart more each day, and frustration that so much of my life was under the control of someone else.

All this frustration took its toll on me. I live with pain everyday, it's part of the price I paid to survive cancer. I also live with fear that the cancer could return. This pain and fear magnified every other problem I bumped into. Eventually my frustration with work hit a point where I had to do something. I believed (and still do believe) that my physical, and growing mental, limits caused my work management to treat me differently then they did my co-workers, in other words I was being discriminated against. A bit of advice for anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation, don't trust the internal company process for reporting discrimination, it is only there to protect the company, not the individual worker. Go straight to the (choke, gag, cough) government.

I'm sure you have heard the term "going postal". It's a way of saying that someone went bonkers and started to right perceived wrongs they experienced at work with the help of their favorite firearm. Once I started to realize I was growing ever closer to the "going postal" state of mind from the company's discrimination investigation and treatment of me, I talked to my Dr.. For the good of all involved, and my own physical and mental well being, he placed me on medical disability for a few months. Yep, this MAD mountain geek is truly certifiable.

If you have been reading the blog from the start you have a good idea what all has happened since then, so I won't recap all of that.

I'm still dealing with frustration but not as much as I was, and the majority of it is from dealing with the company's and the insurance provider's "policies". I hate the word policy, corporations sling it about as if it were law chiseled into stone when it is nothing but their idea of what is best for the company.

For now, I am still at the mercy of this corporate control over parts of my life, but I have discovered a new way of approaching life here in the backwoods. I no longer look at every person I see as another source of frustration that needs to be removed from the gene pool, that is as long as I stay out of the city.

Whoops, time to head into the city, breathe... breathe... breathe, I can do this.

Certified Geek of Treehaven

I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas

It may seam silly to some folks, but this is my first ever white Christmas and I'm a bit giddy over it. The holiday season has never been a big deal for me. I see it as a commercialized controversy generator these days.

Back in Eugene, last holiday season, one of the big issues was over Christmas trees in public buildings. Some of the rabid politically correct bunch thought having the trees was a violation of church and state. I have to say that in a way they were right, but I don't think the local government was trying to force the Druid's beliefs on anyone.

The Christmas tree was originally a part of the druid celebration of winter solstice. The whole Christmas thing was put into place to help blend the pagan solstice celebrations with the new Christian religion. Don't get me wrong, I believe that Christ was born, just not on Dec 25^.

I remember the Christmas TV specials of my youth, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and the other stop motion animations about the season. They kept me and other kids involved in the stories of Christmas. These stories were brought to you by .. Narelco or Zenith or Mattel or some other company wanting the parents to spend money. The message to kids, Christmas is about garbled history and your parents need to buy things or Santa won't come down your chimney.

The only Christmas show I still think got it anywhere close to right was the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Sure, it ended with Linus giving the Christian spin on Christmas, forgetting about all the other religions, but the message of helping one another, forgiveness, and hope stood out. Besides, who can resist Snoopy.

Today I look out at a snow coved vista and hope that somewhere, someone is teaching their kids about more then just garbled history and toys. Maybe they are teaching their kids about the hope of a new year approaching and the need to help out other folks. Yes, it is a good time to reflect on the birth of the Christ, but to so many people around the world the season has very different meanings. Teach truth to your children and they will have the greatest gift of all.

But don't forget to play in the snow if you have it.

Snow Covered Geek of Treehaven

Downtime

There are lot of things we still need to do in our little cabin to get it even 80% ready for the long winter up here. We are approaching the winter solstice, it's just three days away, the daylight will grow a bit each day but the real winter weather will also show up.

We still need to finish some spots of insulation, mainly the roof and behind the tables. I still haven't been able to level the house and it is causing problems with moisture on the back side. We still have things in the tent we should bring in, books, craft stuff, and other sundry items that are not dried or otherwise protected food stuffs. I am hoping to get up some kind roof over our front door to keep snow from piling up on the door. There are trees I still want to cut down and low hanging branches to trim.

Even with all that to do, there are days we just can't get motivated a whole lot. Yesterday we were going to do dishes and wash wife's hair but instead we mostly goofed off. Mrs. Treehaven spent the day devouring another book, "Island In The Sea Of Time" by S.M. Stirlnig. And playing Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization. I spent most of the day playing, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword. ( http://www.firaxis.com/index.php)

For anyone who plays any kind of computer games I highly recommend the Civilization IV line of games. They are turn based games that are played in a historical setting. The Civilization line of games has repeatedly won award after award for not just game play, but also their historical and educational content. But be forewarned, once you start, you to will be thinking, "just one more turn" until your eyes glaze over and sleep becomes a thing of the past. :-)

I spent some time enjoying part of my newest audio-book from http://www.podiobooks.com, Jack Palms 3 by Seth Harwood,. It's the 3^rd book in the Jack Palm's crime fiction series. Crime fiction is a new genre' for me but Seth has got me hooked. If you like crime fiction, or just like good short fiction, you may also want to check out Seth's new short story crime fiction podcast at crimewav.com and his main site, http://sethharwood.com/

Down time is important, it recharges your batteries and gives your mind something to focus on other then just work. So what is the plan for today? Well maybe we will get the dishes done, it looks like we have another bumper crop of icicles to harvest, and I need to do something to stop the ice build up on the back side of the house.

On the other hand, my Vikings are locked in a battle with the Celtic empire and they just took out my Aircraft carrier battle fleet, maybe just a few more turns.

Distracted Geek of Treehaven

C...c...c..cold!

I remember an ice storm back in Eugene, the city was all but shut down and every one was talking about how cold it was. If I recall right it got down into the single digits (F). Yesterday's low up here in the backwoods was -19F and our high was 20F. I'm sure anyone in Alaska, northern Canada, or the more northern parts of the US are thinking, "That's not that cold.", but it's colder then I have ever had to deal with.

When you get this kind cold things happen to objects and flesh that are not fun. We have ice on the insides of our doors ( note: need to finish insulating) and going outside is a multi-step process. Layers of clothing are my best friend.

First comes the basic day ware; Long-johns, sweat pants, jeans, tea shirt, flannel shirt and wool socks . When available I add tow warmers to my socks before putting on my boots or shoes. My boots have steal toes, the steal acts as a heat sink and makes my toes colder then when I'm in my street shoes, but have better treed for moving around on the slick ground. All that is just for sitting around in the house and even then I keep a blanket over my legs when at the computer.

When I'm going out for more then a few seconds I add an insulated flannel over shirt, my heavy jacket, a neck scarf, glove liners and wool gloves, and my funky northwest insulated ear hat. Even through all of that I can get cold if I'm out for more then 15 or 20 min.

When we went into town yesterday, to fill our propane and gas cans, the door on the back of the truck was frozen shut. I had to pour about a half a pot of hot watter over the handle just to get it open. (note: get deicer). Our truck normal has a good heater but on the ride in and back the poor little thing was working overtime and just keeping it barely warm in the truck. Even the door to our house freezes shut at times. It takes a good swift kick to get it open.

There are advantages to this kind of cold, at least for us. As we have no refrigerator yet the cold has become our refrigerator and freezer. We have to keep one of our windows open just a bit to be sure we have ventilation for our propane fireplace. We put things we want to keep cold right in front of the open spot. For larger items that are OK frozen, we have our freezer tree. I put a small shelf up in one of our trees and we set stuff out on it to keep frozen. So far it hasn't been raided by any crafty wild critters.

Latter today we will be doing an icicle harvest from the house. The icicles will be put in the turkey fryer over our stove to melt. One can never store to much watter. Isn't that right sister in-law ( family ribbing)

Our once nice fluffy snow is starting to freeze into a solid layer of crunchy, icy, slickness. Even our dogs that are made for the cold are having a bit of a problem with it. We need to get snow boots for all our critters. Miss. Treehaven has no boots, just her street shoes, so venturing out into the snow is down right hazardous for her. Anyone want to contribute to the boot fund? ( Note the Pay pal section to the right. Shameless begging.)

Bundled up Geek of Treehaven

It's all in how you look at things

Over a dozen pines reach for heaven, their needles tips painted with glistering snow. A hill sweeps up to the horizon just beyond the trees where the low sagebrush dots the ground and stubbornly defies the light snow. There are fresh paw prints in a light fluff snow made by an over excited K9 leading out of our front yard, into the groves of trees to my right, and then stretching up the sage doted hill in the distance. One lone pine, bent till its crown just touches the two inches of snow on the ground, laughs at me because it has survived yet another day without me ending its struggle for life with a chainsaw.

That is the view from my window this morning as I sit here contemplating our own struggles here in the backwoods. Right now we are stranded with no truck. My own stupidity the cause of our plight. We should be able to retrieve it on Monday, but it's going to cost a good bit of my next check and we are at the mercy of the same snow that looks so wonderful. Bad roads could prevent us from going into town to pick it up.

We are low on gas for our gas hog of a generator and our little portable battery pack has proven to way less then we needed. If it were not for the help of some of our new friends, we would be even worse off then we are right now.

Thanks to good advice and help we have heat and still a good bit of fuel for our heater. We have plenty of food and water so we will make it. It could get unconformable, but I don't foresee dire circumstances.

I could sit here and curse and rave at the snow for making our life that much harder, but right now its just to pretty for me to get mad at it. I guess it really is all in how you look at things.

Snow bound Geek of Treehaven